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Friday, May 23, 2014

Interview: Randy Attwood

Greetings humans, half-breeds, and everything in between. A while
back, I had the pleasure to interview a wonderful author named, Randy Attwood. A good time was truly
had by all and here’s how it went down.

from Goodreads

Hi there Randy! It’s so
awesome to have you here at the ECS Blog. Don’t worry about the darkness, your
eyes will adjust.

So tell me, who is Randy Attwood?

I grew up on the grounds of a Kansas insane asylum where my father was
a dentist. I attended the University of Kansas during the troubled 1960s
getting a degree in art history. After stints writing and teaching in Italy and
Japan I had a 16-year career in newspapers as reporter, editor and column
writer winning major awards in all categories. I turned to health care public
relations serving as director of University Relations at KU Medical Center. I
finished my career as media relations officer of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art. Now retired, I am marketing the fiction I've written over all those years.
And creating more.

I can see you’ve already had quite a career,
but now that you’re retired, I’m sure the adventures will begin. Being an
author is a lot more involved than most people realize.

So whacha got for me today?

image provided by author

Growing up on the grounds of a mental hospital and working in the
cafeteria that fed its 1,500 patients meant I got to know a lot of crazy folks.
"Write about what you know," goes the adage. "Crazy About
You" is told in first person from the point of view of a high school student
who will have a week that grows him up far faster than he could have every
wanted. Crazy is a coming-of-age, murder mystery, thriller story. It's my most
downloaded and purchased book with 17 five-star reviews. You can see them here.

Not too many people can write from firsthand
experience in a mental hospital. Already your story sounds very intriguing.

So who’s starring in this 2 dimensional script
read of “Crazy About You”?

Brad Adams is a high school junior. He's a folk singer and a dreamer.
When his dad, the mental hospital's dentist, goes on a work trip, Brad has no
idea that he will spend the week grappling with questions about sexuality,
sanity and death. And some of the answers aren't pretty.

There was once a time when hearing of a teen
grappling with questions of sexuality meant that someone was having their first
crush. Teens are so mature these day and subjects that were once taboo are now
being openly discussed in healthy ways. This definitely sounds like a tale that
will appeal to a wide audience.

Past, present, future, is there a rhyme or
reason to your writing?

I write by the seat of my pants. A scene or situation or character
comes to me and I start creating that scene and character and see what happens.
I never know the ending of a story when I start it. I used to be upset when
people would ask me how much of "Crazy About You" really happened.
Then I realized that the writing created a reality for those readers. And
that's what I'm trying to do with words: create a reality.

I try to write by the seat of my pants, but I
think I need a better belt. It never goes well for me. I need to plan; however,
I do appreciate the creativity of others who can simply write.

Outside when the weather is nice. Right now I'm reading Camp
Concentration by Thomas Disch, which I've had on my shelf for decades and just
reading. It's brilliant.

I also enjoy reading outside though I hardly
get to do it.

What was your favorite book or story, pre-teen
years?

The Black Stallionseries. I liked the character and set up and looked forward to the
next tale. I've only tried to do one series, the Phillip McGuire series and
found out how difficult it is to achieve.

I tried to read this book as a child, but had
no luck. I never seemed to warm to books about animals, mainly horses, but I
don’t mind to watch the film versions. I’m sure it’s all psychological...

Now this is where the questions get a little
kooky; are you ready?

Sure, why not.

Alright then, here we go.

If you could only watch one movie for the rest
of your life, what would it be?

That’s a good classic movie that far too many
from my generation haven’t seen. I fear the current generation never will.

What makes you geek out?

I love it when I discover a writer I haven't read and learn that I
like him or her and then can read everything they have written in the order it
was published.

I adore this response. I know that feeling of
discovering a “new to me” author, but I never considered going back to read all
their publications in the order they were released. Very cool!

So what’s testing your patience right now?

I haven't seen the new Star Trek effort and look forward to that. I'm
a big Trekie. I started watching with other fans at the Student Union at the
University of Kansas in the first year of the series. Never stopped. I have two
books coming out this year, both part of a that Phillip McGuire series I
mentioned that is about a burn-out foreign correspondent who returns to KU to
own and run a bar. Adventures come his way. The first, "Tortured
Truths" was by Curiosity Quills on Oct 25. The second, "Heart
Chants," came out December 20. The second one features a half-Navajo,
half-white character who thinks he is a witch. It contains, I believe, the best
retelling of the incredible Navajo creation story that exists in a work of
fiction.

It’s always exciting playing catchup with your
pop-culture drug of choice. I’m excited about a new series coming out called
Gotham. My dad’s a big Trekie, so I’m always hearing about it from him. Also,
kudos on all your releases and your continued creativity. I look forward to
hearing about all your success.

When the soundtrack of your life is playing in
your head, what songs express your glee and what songs bring out your rage?

This is such a passionate question with no
right or wrong answers, but I love that people who do listen to music have
their likes and dislikes. It makes us all unique.

What’s the most fun experience you’ve ever
had, to date?

Living in Italy. Learning Italian changed my life and made me
appreciate how little I knew of the world. I was so fortunate later to also
live in Japan for 18 months and meet more wonderful people.

Being able to experience a new place and have
it become a part of you is always memorable, and Italy sounds like a good place
to bond with.

Not that you can see into the future, but in
your opinion, what does the future hold?

I love being retired and being able to work on fiction pieces. Doesn't
seem I'm really integrated as myself unless I have a project involving words.
I'm 45,000 words into a future history and 10,000 words into a noir mystery
with a very strong female protagonist.

That sounds quite nice. I look forward to a
day I can write with leisure. I’m happy you’ve come to a place of content.

Ok humans, half-breeds, and everything in
between, that’s all for today. Be sure to follow this blog to see who will be
visiting next time. For more from Randy Attwood, check out these great links:

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Click below to share
your reactions and more. Remember, I’ll be moving to the ToiBox full-time soon,
so please, stop by to check it out. Until next time, Toi Thomas.
#cursescanbebroken #thetoiboxofwords